Door operated mailbox signal



Au 30, 1949. c. w; HQRN' 2,480,469

DOOR OPERATED MAILBOX SIGNAL Filed April 8, 1947 INVENTOR. UMFLES W Muir/v .5 1T? %gMM Patented Aug. 30, 1949 1 UNITED STATES PAIE NT oFFicE;

I -2,,4s0,46.e1;* i a a noon OPERATED Mnmno xisrennn" i Charles-,W. Horn, rciilanq;or Application A rils, 1947.; serialized-venom? My present invention relatesto'a mail box signalingdevice for rural route-mail boxes.

I The principal object of my present invention is to provide means wherebythe owner of a rural route mail box maybe apprised of the presence of mail in the boxfrom a long distance. It is usually'the' case that the holders of rural route boxes are domiciled back from the route followed by the mail carrier while their mail boxes are located along the road overwhich the mail carrier drives. In many cases the house may be separatedfrom the mail boxby several hundred yards; The present invention is designed to signal the presence of mail in the box-- tothe home owner in his home thusrelieving-him oi the necessity of walking to the mail box -every time the; mail carrier should have passed by. Even in thecase oi'urban orsuburban dwellersserved by rural route delivery; where the-mail box-"may not be much more than several yards from the front doore'the present'inven-tion serves a long felt need since in manycasesthehome owner may feel the necessity ofinspecting the. box during inclement weather. Thepresent invention relieves the home ownerof the necessiwotphysicallyinspect+ inga-the mail; box toaascertain. whether mail has been.depositedltherein'.l v

a .The; principal object: of; the prjsenlzinyention isitherefore to providei signalingmeans to; inform the; owner of: a. mailib xzthat mail hasibeen; de-

posited; therein;

, A further; obj ect, of the present; invention; is) to provide mail box signaling means ofi. s urdy; constructiong manufactured; fromT inexpensive materials.

A further, object-of, the present, invention is to provide a maiL-box. signal which is: simple vinoperation, which automatically signals the presence of mailuponthaopening of. the mailbox to, deposit, mail I therein thusrelieving the, depositor of the necessity of performing anyactionsin,addie tion to; openingthe mail boxdoon and it'may be Iielilllhd to,cockednonrsignalinggpositionJoyv even the youngest person capable of opening thejboxto take the mail therefrom. A further object of the present invention is to provide a mailbox sigg nal which may be easily andrapidly aflixed to a mail" boxi'by any person of average intelligence thus facilitatingthe sale and installation ofmail box-signaling devices.

A further obj ectof'the present invent-ion is to provide a mail box signaling device which may be readily and quicklyassembledand 'which' in assembled formdoes not present'a-plurality of disassoci'ated partssusceptible to r becoming lost.

=A,further object of, the.- nresent' invention isto providea mailjbQX signaling, device which, maybe readily assembled with. a mail box in very rapid order, and which may be just as readily dis-as.- sembled therefrom so asto permit a home owner to.-carrythe signaling devicewith him in the event he-wishes to do so without removing the mailbox from itsposition.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention may be more readily understood from inspection of the accompanying drawing taken in connection with the following specification wherein like numerals refer to like parts,througl'iout.v v 7 In the dr-awing Fig. 1 is a view in perspective taken fromJthe rear of a mail box having th pliesent invention associated therewith;

Fig 2 is -a verticalsection taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3- is a partial side elevation of a portion of a mail box with the present invention associated therewith.

In the. drawing a conventional mail box is 11- lustrated comprising a receptacle having a hinged frontdoor ll adapted to be held in place by a snap catch l2, the door being hinged at the bottom. to drop forwardly in the conventional manner. As in all standard mail boxes, the rear wall IA of the receptacle is joined to the side, top and bottom wall by 2. rolled seam forming a pcripheral edged bead I5. I make use of this bead to. attach my invention thereto by providing a mounting plate I6, preferably having a vertical stifiening rib or ribs l'l thereon, which is adapted tobe slid vertically downward in engagement with the rear wall M by engaging the vertical portions of the bead 15 in channels formed by re entrantly'bending the side edges of the mounting plate to form opposite guides as indicated at l8 and IS. The upper portion of'the plate I? is reduced in width and the upper end thereof is reentrantly bent as indicated at 20 to form a clamp adapted-to engage the top of the bead 15.1 At the=central portion of the lower edge of'the plate l1 there is-pr-ovided a tab 2i adapted to be bent upwardly and crimped about the lower portion of the bead l5 after the mounting plate has been slid into the illustrated position. Such crimping action may be accomplished by any convenient,

orderto removethemounting plate by sliding it upward; I 7 The uppenedgestothmounting plate are provided with tabs which are bent forwardly to provide a pair of pintle ears 22 and 23 through which may be passed a pivot member 24 such as a stove bolt, or a length of wire having one end preformed to provide a head, the other end of which may be peaned over after assembly. The pivot member 24 is passed through suitable openings in the lower ends of flanges provided on a lever 30, to which lever there is firmly aflixed a signal disc 3| or other rigid member of relatively large size visible from a great distance. A spring 32 is coiled about the pivot member 24 in tensioned condition having its ends extending a sufficient distance in opposite directions to engage the surfaces of the mounting plate l6 and the lever 30. The free end of lever 30 is extended beyond the signal disc 3| and it is preferably rolled into a tubular extension 32, or a tubular extension member 32 is welded or otherwise afilxed to the end of the lever 30. The extension 32 could be solid or have other cross sectional configurations without departing from my invention. The signal device is adapted to be set in cocked position by swinging the lever 30 downwardly about the pivot 24 and engaging the extension 32 between the prongs 35 of a clip fixed to the lower central portion of the plate IS. The clip preferably comprises a strip of fairly rigid but resilient material folded upon itself as illustrated.

In order to trip the signaling device, means are provided to force the extension 32 from the clip when the door I is opened. The releasing means preferably comprises a crank iii) having a fairly long horizontal portion journaled in spaced apart push-outs which may be struck up from the surface of the plate l6 when it is being formed. The inner end of the crank is provided with an offset releasing portion 4| adapted to lie above the clip between the extension 32 and the mounting plate B. The horizontal portion of the crank on the opposite side of the journal therefor provided by the push-outs mounts a coil spring 42 having its inner end biased against the mounting plate l and its outer end extended upwardly and engaged with the upwardly extending crank arm of the crank. As illustrated, the engagement of the outer end of the spring with the crank arm is preferably achieved by passing an offset end of the spring through a hole drilled through the free end of the crank. The spring is so tensioned as constantly to urge the crank arm away from the door The upper end of the crank arm is attached to flexible means preferably comprising a chain 55, the'forward end of which passes through an opening in a chain guide 48 suitably mounted on the front door H as by means of a bolt 47. The member may be attached by other means but I prefer the bolt ll inasmuch as the member is thereby made detachable if desired and the bolt may be inserted through a hole easily punched or drilled through the door.

The assembly of the chain 45, member 46, crank 40, and spring 42 with the mounting plate I5 is achieved as follows: The crank is formed without bending the crank arm upwardly so that it may be slipped through the push-outs on the mounting plate. The spring is held in tensioned condition and slipped on to the crank whereupon the crank arm may be bent upwardly and the formed end of the spring slipped through the hole in the crank arm. The chain 45 is slipped through the opening in the member 46 and is held therein by an enlargement 48 such as a ring carried by the chain. The other end is engagedby the crank arm as by means of springing a link and slipping it over the crank arm. Thereafter the end of the spring 42 may be hooked over the end of the chain to lock the members in assembled relation.

The present invention may be assembled with an existing mail box by sliding the mounting plate into position and bending the tab 2| upward as seen in Fig. 3, and by attaching the member 46 to the door The signal device is cocked by engaging the extension 32 between the clip arms 35 and the mail box is ready for the receipt of mail. Upon opening the door the chain 45 is pulled outwardly thus rocking the crank toward the rear and forcing extension 32 from the clip. The spring 32 causes the lever 3!! to spring upwardly until it strikes the upper end of the mounting plate which retains the signal device in view above the mail box. If desired the signal member 3| may be painted a bright color to increase its visibility. The owner is thus apprized that the mail box has opened. After inspection of the mail box and reclosing the door the signal device may be returned to its cocked position by placing the extension 32 in the clip.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications in detail and arrangement are permissible. For example, the dimensions may be altered to enable the mounting plate to be fitted over various sizes of mail boxes and the chain 45 may be altered in length and method of attachment to the crank. All such modifications in detail and arrangement as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims are considered to be a part of my invention.

I claim: 7

1. A mail box signaling device comprising a mounting plate adapted to be attached to the rear wall of a mail box, a signal pivotally mounted on said mounting plate, a spring biased between said mounting plate and said signal to urge said signal into an upright position, a retainer adapted to resiliently engage and retain said signal device in downwardly extending position overlying said mounting plate, a crank mounted on said mounting plate and including an offset portion extending between said mounting plate and said signal when said signal is retained by said retainer, and means connecting said crank to the door of the mail box and movable upon opening said door to rock said crank and disengage said signal.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting plate comprises re-entrantly bent edge portions adapted to engage the rear wall head portion of a standard mail box. 3. The invention set forth in claim 1 in combination with spring means associated with said crank and biased to normally urge said offset portion against said mounting plate.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said connecting means comprises a chain and a member engaged with an end of said chain and detachably securable to the door of said mail box.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting plate is provided with channel grooves at its opposite edges adapted to receive the head of the rear wall of a standard mail box and retain the mounting plate thereon, a substantially horizontal downwardly facing groove at its upper edge adapted to receive the upper portion of-said bead, and a tab at its lower edge adapted to be bent around the lower portion of said bead.

6. The invention set forth in claim 1 wherein said signal comprises an elongated lever having an enlarged rigid target mounted thereon, said lever having an extension extending beyond said target, and said retainer comprises a pair of resilient, spaced apart, clip arms adapted to receive and retain said extension.

7. A mail box signal device adapted to be mounted upon a mail box of the type having a bead about the junction of the sides thereof to the rear wall thereof, comprising a mounting plate having re-entrant edge portions forming channels adapted to receive and embrace said bead, said re-entrant portions comprising a pair of vertical opposed side portions and an upper downwardly facing portion and said plate having a tab extending from the lower edge thereof and normally positioned in the plane of said mounting plate so as to permit vertical sliding movement of said plate, said tab being bendable upwardly and inwardly to engage the lower surface of the mail box after said plate has been positioned thereon.

8. A mail box signal device comprising a mounting plate adapted to be mounted upon the mail box, a spring-urged signal device mounted upon said plate, means for releasably retaining said signal device against the tension of its spring in Number non-signaling position, a crank mounted upon said plate in position to trip said signaling device from said retaining means, a crank-operating chain permanently fixed to said crank, and a chain retaining member permanently engaged 6 with the free end of said chain and adapted to be affixed to the door of the mail box.

9. A mail box signal device adapted to be mounted upon a mail box of the type having a door at the front and a bead about the edge of its rear wall, comprising a mounting plate having at least one reentrant edge portion forming a channel adapted to embrace a portion of said bead, a signal pivotally mounted upon said plate, a spring biased between said plate and said signal in position to urge said signal to a signaling position, a catch releasably engaging and retaining said signal in a non-signaling position adjacent said plate, a catch releasing member movably mounted upon said plate and including a portion arranged to release said catch to permit said signal to be moved to signaling position by said spring, and. an operating member connected to said catch releasing member and adapted to be connected to the door of the mail box whereby opening of the door would cause release of said catch.

CHARLES W. HORN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 745,749 Wheeler Dec. 1, 1903 879,022 Wolf Feb. 11, 1908 1,060,659 Ammann May 6, 1913 1,458,836 McDowell June 12, 1923 1,973,020 Smith Sept. 11, 1934 

